Bad Day
by Sun
Summary: Claire has a bad day.


_Disclaimer: The Invisible Man and the characters involved therein belongs to The Sci Fi channel. No copywrite infringment intended. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment purposes. Maggie Rourke and anyone else you don't recognize belong to me. Lyrics and title by Fuel._

* * *

Bad Day

by Sun

* * *

Had a bad day again   
She said I would not understand   
She left a note and said, "I'm sorry I   
had a bad day again"   
  
She spilled her coffee, broke her shoelace   
Smeared the lipstick on her face   
Slammed the door and said, "I'm sorry I   
had a bad day again"   
  
And she swears there's nothing wrong   
I hear her playing that same old song   
She puts me off and puts me on   
- _Bad Day, Fuel_

* * *

Claire looked up abruptly when the computer on her desk gave an ominous alarm. She put down the clipboard and rushed to the computer. A bright blue screen flickered at her before the whole system shut down. "No. No, no, no. Damn it." She pressed the power switch a couple of times before kicking the desk. "This is not happening today." 

She collapsed into her chair, rubbing her temples. The whole day had been one that she wanted to rewind and do over. Or better still, crawl into bed and forget completely. 

* * *

Claire drifted slowly awake with the feeling something was wrong. She stretched and looked at her alarm clock. The numbers blinked 12:00 at her contemptuously. "What the?" 

She crawled out of bed and reached for her watch, sitting on her dresser. The face read 8:52 and she cursed, rushing into the bathroom. The power had gone out during the night and her clock reset itself. Now she was late for work. 

Hurriedly, Claire dressed and rushed down stairs. Pavlov was waiting at the base of the stairs. She hurried into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee while she threw together a lunch. Grabbing a can of dog food, Claire turned to pour it into Pavlov's doggie dish. Anticipating food, the little dog was standing right behind his mommy. Claire didn't see him and tripped, spilling coffee down the front of her blouse. 

"Damn it Pavlov." Angrily, she threw the food in the dish and got up off the floor. She climbed back up the stairs and tossed the dirty blouse in the hamper. Cleaning herself off, she pulled on a fresh blouse and headed back downstairs. She grabbed her lunch and briefcase before heading out the door. 

The ride to work was blessedly uneventful. She pulled into her spot in the parking garage and climbed out of her SUV. With a sigh, Claire started toward the building entrance. She reached into her coat pocket for her id and missed the crack in the pavement. The heel of her pump slipped into the crack and she tripped, twisting her ankle. She put her hands out to break her fall and scraped her palms against the pavement. Looking down at her ankle, which was rapidly swelling, she reached for her shoe. The heel of the pump hung off at an awkward angle and she threw the shoe across the garage with a little screech. She pulled off her other shoe and got to her feet, heading inside. 

The guard at the door greeted her warmly but Claire limped past him, acknowledging him with a grunt. Quietly, she passed the Official's door heading to the Keep. The door opened and Eberts peeked out. 

"Keeper, The Official would like to see you." He called to her. 

Claire stopped, her eyes closed in an effort not to kill someone. "Not now, Albert." 

"But he wants to see you now." 

Claire looked over her shoulder at Eberts, murder in her eyes. "Not now, Albert." She growled at him before swiping her id though the reader and waited for the Keep door to open. 

Eberts nodded and went back into the office. Shaking her head, Claire entered the Keep, tossing her stuff on her desk. She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out an old pair of trainers. She pulled on the running shoes and tied them before starting her morning routine. 

She watered the plants and fed the animals before turning to the fish tank. She reached down and picked up the fish food before opening the hood of the tank. Two fish floated on their sides, obviously dead. She sighed and went to find the net to scoop out the fish. 

As she was disposing of the dead fish, Darien came into the lab whistling. 

"Morning Keepie. How was your weekend?" He asked cheerfully as he climbed into the lab chair. 

Claire groaned, not in the mood to deal with a bubbly Darien. She took a deep breath and headed for the cooler. "Hullo Darien." 

His brow wrinkled in concern. "You okay Keep?" 

She rolled the lab cart over to him. "I'm fine Darien. I've just had a difficult morning." She wrapped the rubber tubing around his arm, making the vein more pronounced. She tapped the inside of his elbow but still she couldn't find a vein. "Damn. All right, I'm going to try the other arm." She pulled off the tubing and went around to the other arm. This time a vein popped up nicely and she slid the needle into his arm. Claire pulled out the needle and placed a cotton ball over the spot. 

"Everything okay?" Darien's voice held a little fear. Claire nodded absently. "Yeah. The veins aren't collapsing yet. You're just a little dehydrated. Make sure you drink lots of water today." 

Darien nodded and jumped off the chair. "No problem. Thanks, Keep." 

She waved as he left and went to take care of some lab glassware she'd used on Friday. The beakers were slippery and one slipped out of her hand, crashing to the floor. She dried her hands and bent down to pick up the pieces, cursing when one of the sharp edges cut her finger. "Can this day possibly get any worse?" 

Finally, the glass was cleaned up, Claire's finger was bandaged and she was sitting in front of her computer typing up a report for the Official. The door to the Keep slid open and she heard footsteps coming toward her. 

"Hey Keepie." Hobbes called. 

Claire looked up from her computer. "Hi Bobby. What are you doing down here?" 

Hobbes looked at his feet. "Fawkes said you were having a rough day. I thought maybe I could take you out to lunch?" 

Claire smiled. "Oh, that's nice of you Bobby. But I've got a lot of work to do. I'm just going to eat my salad and finish up these reports." 

"Are you sure?" Hobbes looked unconvinced. "Come on. We'll just take a half hour." 

"I'm sure." 

"Okay. Cause you really should get out of here more often, get some sun." 

Claire was becoming annoyed. She spun around in her chair. "Bobby, I'm fine. Thank you. Now if you don't mind I've got a lot of work to do." She snapped. 

Hobbes looked stunned. "Okay." He said simply before heading to the door. He turned back and began, "If you want to talk," 

Claire shook her head. "You wouldn't understand. But thanks." 

He nodded and left. Claire watched him go, feeling awful. Her day was getting worse by the moment. Grabbing her clipboard, she headed to the cages to check on the animals. 

Her computer issued a loud alarm and Claire rushed over. A blue warning screen flickered on for a moment before the system shut down. She pushed the power button and kicked the desk before slumping into her chair. 

"No. No, no, no. Damn it. This is not happening." She pressed her fingers against her temples, feeling the tears begin to form. Shaking her head, she scribbled a quick note and taped it to the Keep door before leaving. She ignored Eberts calling to her and headed straight to her car, driving home. 

Hobbes watched Eberts go to the door and call to Claire. There was no answer and he came back inside. 

"She still doesn't want to speak with you sir." 

The Official looked at Hobbes and Darien. "Do either one of you know what is wrong with the Keeper today?" 

The agents looked at each other before shaking their heads. Hobbes spoke up. "Want me to go check the Keep?" The Official nodded. "On your way out. See if there's any clue to her attitude today." 

Hobbes nodded. "Okay. See you tomorrow sir." He nodded good-bye to Darien and headed for the Keep. The door was closed and a piece of paper was taped to the shiny metal. He pulled the note off the door. The message was simple but explained everything. 

"I'm sorry. I had a bad day." 

He crumpled the note in his hand and headed out to the van. 

* * *

Claire unlocked the door to her apartment and let her stuff drop to the floor inside. She shut the door behind her and kicked off her shoes as she headed to the couch. Pavlov padded over to her and licked at her ankle before jumping up onto her lap. 

"Oh, Pavlov, I had the worst day today. I broke stuff, my fish died, I even yelled at Bobby." She rubbed her cheek against Pavlov's fur, letting the tears finally come. 

The doorbell rang and Claire looked up in surprise. She set Pavlov down and went to the door. "Its probably the INS coming to deport me." She remarked morosely as she threw open the door. 

Hobbes stood on the other side, holding a bouquet of flowers. A paper bag sat at his feet. "I heard you had a bad day." Claire looked at the flowers and fell into Bobby, sobbing. He put his arms around her, unsure of how to comfort her. Finally, he just patted her back until she stopped crying. 

She lifted her head, sniffling. "Sorry, Bobby." 

"Hey, that's okay Keepie." He nodded at the bag that Pavlov was sniffing around. "I thought since we couldn't have lunch, we could have dinner." 

Claire wiped her eyes. "What'd you bring?" 

"Thai?" He handed her the flowers. "Here, take these and I'll get the bag." 

She took the flowers and inhaled their scent. "They're beautiful. Thank you Bobby." 

He reached into the bag and pulled out a doggie treat for Pavlov. "Here you go, ya little rat." He tossed it inside and waited for the dog to go after it before carrying the bag inside. "Come on, Keep. Share your sorrows, I'll cheer you up." 

Claire smiled. The day was looking up after all. 

* * *


End file.
